Eddie Alvarez says it's "a little bit disheartening" to see Ok Rae Yoon as ONE lightweight king
MMA legend and multi-time world champion Eddie Alvarez has had quite the rough go in ONE Championship lately. Compiling a 1-2 record with one no contest in the promotion since his debut in 2019, Alvarez hasn't seen a winning column in over three years.
His last fight was a losing effort against current ONE lightweight world champion Ok Rae Yoon.
Never to be deterred, Eddie Alvarez is still optimistic that he will eventually see himself at the top of his division in ONE Championship.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Alvarez was asked what he thought of the top five fighters in his weight class, as well as what he actually thinks about Ok Rae Yoon.
To this, 'The Underground King' said:
"I think it's a bunch of killers, man. I think it always has been. I do think I'm one of the best guys in that division. I feel like, you know, I've had some kind of weird shakes. I feel like, Ok, our champion right now has gotten some really good nods, really good decisions. And I don't want to say a championship belt isn't warranted, but I think the decisions could have easily gone the other way on all three opponents."
He added:
"Whether it's Marat Gafurov, myself, or Christian Lee. So to see him with the belt, you know, that's a little bit disheartening. But you know, everybody's, it's a sea of killers out there as far as that division, and that belt is wide open to be won by anyone."
Alvarez's fight with Ok was quite competitive and was one of the highlights of 2021 for ONE Championship. Whether or not it could have gone either way is up for debate. While many believe Ok did enough to pull off the decision win, others understand why Alvarez would see it differently.
Watch their full fight here and see for yourself:
"The plan never changes” - Eddie Alvarez still plans to put on amazing fights despite recent career setbacks
Eddie Alvarez was part of the ONE Championship and Amazon Prime Video joint press conference in LA a few weeks back. When asked how he feels regarding his career trajectory at the moment, Alvarez said this:
“The goal is always the same. You go out there and put on exciting fights. You know, when I entered this sport, I never really had a plan. I think plans are for schemers. So I think I just go about each fight one at a time and try to put on the best show I can. The plan never changes.”
Regardless of championship belts or even wins, Eddie Alvarez has always been a crowd-pleasing fighter. He always comes out guns blazing and is eager to put on a show for the fans.
'The Underground King' has reflected the qualities of a "people's champion" - an everyman who fights with absolute courage and wears his heart firmly on his sleeve.